The present invention relates generally to bag tying operations and more specifically to a bag closing and feeding apparatus for advancing a filled bag from a bag filling machine to the conveyor mechanism of bag tying mechanism.
Previously, one method of advancing the filled bags has been to transfer the bag from a filling device to a bag tying device manually. However, this practice is not entirely satisfactory since it is time consuming and has become increasingly costly due to the high cost of labor. In addition, the possibility of accidental injury or dismemberment is always present during attempts at feeding articles into machines by hand. This, of course, results in the development of complicated and often expensive safety devices for such hand fed mechanisms. A further method of advancing filled bags to the bag tying mechanism is by additional conveyor devices, such as belt conveyors. These devices however, do not normally function to close the top of the bag prior to presentation to the conveyor mechanism of the bag tying device, nor do they assure proper orientation of the filled bag as it is fed to the conveyor mechanism.